Santa Cruz Astronomy Club blogshttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/blog
Some people promise you the stars. We deliver.enWill Try to Veiw Venus before Sunrise and after Sunset March 23 or Maybe the 24thhttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9254
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>My app says I can do this, so tomorrow I am going have an early cup of coffee to catch a view venus before sunrise -- March 23, 2017. If the weather holds, actually cooperates with forcasters, we should see another Venus view just after sunset. I am headed to one of the coastal outlooks for both observations. Why attempt to observe these infrequent opportunities? Early observers, many hundreds of years ago, used these types of observatioins to figure out we are not the center of the universe;)</p>
<p>Let me know what you see and I'll do the same.</p>
<p>Jeff</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 23 Mar 2017 01:16:13 +0000jrgose9254 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9254#commentsExploring Pluto: Oceans at the Edge of the Solar System!http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9252
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>MIRA's next lecture is on the events website: <a href="http://www.mira.org/events.htm ">http://www.mira.org/events.htm </a></p>
<p>The program is as follows:</p>
<p>Title: Exploring Pluto: Oceans at the Edge of the Solar System!, Dr. Francis Nimmo, U.C. Santa Cruz</p>
<p>Location &amp; time: MPC Lecture Forum #102 on January 21, 2017 at 7:30pm</p>
<p>Eighty-six years after its discovery, we finally get a close-up look at the dwarf planet at the edge of the Solar System. Not only is the surface a fascinating amalgam of mountains, craters, ice flows, and vast plains, but based on evidence from NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft, Dr. Nimmo predicts a vast water ocean beneath the surface.</p>
<p>At the second Chesley Bonestell Memorial Lecture, the Friends of MIRA got a firsthand description by Clyde Tombaugh of how he discovered Pluto, a tiny dot in a sea of stars. Now, more than a quarter century later, the human desire to explore has revealed that dot as a complex planet with intriguing mysteries.</p>
<p>Dr. Nimmo is a professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of California at Santa Cruz. </p>
<p>His interests are in explaining the spectacular diversity of planets and moons in our solar system.</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 12 Jan 2017 23:00:27 +0000cangelos9252 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9252#commentsSCAC Meetings Still on Thursday, 2nd Thursday of Monthhttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9230
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Good News.</p>
<p>We still meet on Thursdays and at the same location in the Harvey West Park "Scout House". The door locks have not changed. In the future, you will be asked to vote on changing what evening of the week you would like to meet, so we can change accomidation support at Harvey West Park "Scout House or Club House" on other side of the same building we meet for club meetings. Idea is club would pay a little more to have chairs and tables and projection screen already setup for us, so less setup time and more speaker or informal meeting time. Please help spread the word we need to vote on this before the next contract signing in a few months.</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Jeff</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 14 Apr 2015 19:15:31 +0000jrgose9230 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9230#commentsNightfall 2014 at Borrego Springshttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9224
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Hi all! Here we are at Borrego Springs again. Fred, Ron, Jeff and Al came down a day early on Wed. but there was still a thin layer of high cirrus that mucked up the evening. So that night was a bust. Annie got in on Thursday and we all went down to Carmelita's for some good Mexican food. Thursday night was a little better, but Friday was the best so far. It's been really hot during the day - 95 degress and the seeing/guiding doesn't settle dow until about 10:00 PM, so there's lots of time to wander about checking out everyone else's gear. Some pretty good stuff out there. Our old club member Brian Diez from Vixen is set up right next door to us and we've bee hnging out with him, too.</p>
<p>Last evening was the welcome mixer. It had cooled down in the shade to be quite comfortable. Sodas and bar finger food were served, free. Tonight Woodland Hills Telescopes is putting on an ice-cream social in the bar. That one I'm NOT going to miss.</p>
<p>There have been some pretty good speakers here this year - astro photographer Warren Keller amongst them. Unfortunately the workshops start in the mornings and I'm lucky to get out of bed by 10 or 11.</p>
<p>Saturday night (tonight) should be our best night yet weatherwise. Keeping our fingers crossed. Al is taking off on Monday morning and Fred and I are staying on through Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Next year Nightfall is going to be in November so it should be a lot cooler than this year. I hope we can get a big SCAC turnout for next years' Nightfall bash. The more the better.</p>
<p>Ron</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div>Sat, 25 Oct 2014 19:00:46 +0000ryelton6609224 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9224#commentsPresentation for Finding Dark Siteshttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9223
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>For those who attended the club's monthly meeting and those who missed it, I have attached a .pdf version of the presentation with additional web links for references. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Al Smith</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-upload field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><table class="sticky-enabled">
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<tr class="odd"><td><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/sites/default/files/FindingDarkSites2014-09-11-SCAC-final-comp2.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=1974419" title="FindingDarkSites2014-09-11-SCAC-final-comp2.pdf">Presentation for Finding Dark Sites</a></span></td><td>1.88 MB</td> </tr>
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</div></div></div>Mon, 15 Sep 2014 21:37:36 +0000DrAl9223 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9223#commentsProgram for September 11th Meetinghttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9220
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Program for the SCAC Meeting on September 11th will be by our own Al Smith, PhD. speaking on "Finding Dark Sites." He will address 1) Why we want to observe, or photograph, at dark sites. 2) How to quantify and measure dark sites, and 3) Where to find mapped information on dark sites. One of Al's topics will be the selection process used to site the 10 meter telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea at the Keck Observatory. It will surely be an interesting evening!</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 03 Sep 2014 23:29:50 +0000fmiles9220 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9220#commentsGlacier Point - July 2014http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9219
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p class="MsoNormal"> Again, our club's annual trek to Glacier Point was a great success. Friday night we had somewhere around 50-70 people along with some fairly decent weather. The ranger gave us a very nice introduction followed by Bill with his pre-observing presentation. We all stayed out until around midnight. The first night we had: Jeff, Terry and his brother, Seth, Miguel and his wife, Ron, Jeff Young, Bill Seiler and Chris Wandke.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After lunch on Saturday I snuck into my tent for a well deserved nap. Somewhere around 3:00 I woke to the pitter-pat of rain on my tent and thunder in the distance. It wasn't a hard rain, just a continuous light rain until about 5:00. Fortunately, no one got flooded out. Jeff and Bill took off to Glacier Point to do a little recce. The report was clearing weather, so we got all loaded up again and off we went.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Craig and Jeff Young left earlier in the day so we had a couple less scopes. That worked out alright, though, since we had a pretty small turnout (20 or so) due to the earlier rain. Still, the weather continued to clear until about 11:00.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There was one fellow from Bakersfield, Xavier Grijalva, who was doing time lapse photography. He posted it on YouTube and sent me back the link. Here it is - I think you'll enjoy his work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjXjlyUEiNM" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjXjlyUEiNM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjXjlyUEiNM</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next up is CalStar in September and then Nightfall at Borrego Springs in October.</p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 21 Jul 2014 22:21:44 +0000ryelton6609219 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9219#commentsSanta Cruz Sentinal Articlehttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9215
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Last spring Bill O'Neil was interviewed by the Sentinal. The article came out the Sunday that we all came back from GSSP. Attached is the article. A fun read with some great exposure for the club. Jeff and Bill did a wonderful job!</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-upload field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><table class="sticky-enabled">
<thead><tr><th>Attachment</th><th>Size</th> </tr></thead>
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<tr class="odd"><td><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/sites/default/files/Sentinal%20Article%20July%202014.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=264610">Sentinal Article July 2014.pdf</a></span></td><td>258.41 KB</td> </tr>
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</div></div></div>Wed, 16 Jul 2014 01:33:04 +0000ryelton6609215 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9215#commentsGSSP 2014http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9214
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p class="MsoNormal"><span>Just got back from GSSP a couple weeks ago. Once again, it was a fun trip. Although it was quite different from all the other times I've attended. I got there Wed. afternoon just after lunch, and found Walter and John's campsites. (They saved some spots for the rest of us). Not long after getting the tent set up we got the first rain shower of the day. We then had showers off and on through Thursday. </span>Cloudy skies and cold wind was the name of the game. John called this years' gathering the Golden State Shower Party.</p>
<p>Despite the weather, we had a great time. There were still the evening lectures and hanging out with the SCAC gang. Bill did his 3D printer lecture again and really wowed the crowd. The BBQs provided by the Frosty Acres folks were top-notch as always. Saturday we all headed out to Beiber for the annual Big Valley Fund Raiser Picnic. The food was great – lots of different kinds of BBQ, and as you can imagine, it was mostly beef. We found out later that they raised around $5000 for the day with about half of that coming from the GSSP folks. Not too bad!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Friday night we only got a couple of hours of clear skies before the clouds rolled back in, although the seeing was great. Saturday night was typical GSSP fantastic.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> I can't speak for the rest of the gang, but I had a fun time with all of my club buds despite the lack of starry nights.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> We did have a good turnout from the SCAC folks this year. Walter brought his friend Bill, Jeff and Lynne, me, Chris, Bill, John, Fred and Al.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Looking forward to heading up again next year. Next up – Glacier Point!</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 16 Jul 2014 01:27:27 +0000ryelton6609214 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9214#commentsBill Lockman's experiences at GSSP 2014http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9213
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-upload field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><table class="sticky-enabled">
<thead><tr><th>Attachment</th><th>Size</th> </tr></thead>
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<tr class="odd"><td><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/sites/default/files/gssp_lockman_mobile_reduced.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=1408694">gssp_lockman_mobile_reduced.pdf</a></span></td><td>1.34 MB</td> </tr>
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</div></div></div>Tue, 15 Jul 2014 19:49:15 +0000wlockman9213 at http://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.ushttp://astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/node/9213#comments